Earth is surrounded by a blanket of air composed of nitrogen, oxygen, and argon, as well as trace amounts of other gases. This atmosphere, extending hundreds of kilometers from Earth, protects Earth's surface from damaging solar radiation and plays a... major role in water and energy transport. In this interactive resource produced for Teachers' Domain learn about how atmospheric pressure, temperature, and composition are related to altitude.[more]

High in the sky, 60 to 65 miles above Earth's surface, winds rush through a little understood region of Earth's atmosphere at speeds of 200 to 300 miles per hour. Lower than a typical satellite's orbit, higher than where most planes fly, this upper a...tmosphere jet stream makes a perfect target for a particular kind of scientific experiment: the sounding rocket. Some 35 to 40 feet long, sounding rockets shoot up into the sky for short journeys of eight to ten minutes, allowing scientists to probe difficult-to-reach layers of the atmosphere. (02:15)[more]

Satellites, balloon-borne instruments and ground-based devices make 30 million observations of the atmosphere each day. Yet these measurements still give an incomplete picture of the complex interactions within Earth's atmosphere. Enter climate model...s. Through mathematical experiments, modelers can move Earth forward or backward in time to create a dynamic portrait of the planet. NASA Goddard's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office recently ran a simulation of the atmosphere that captured how winds whip aerosols around the world. Such simulations allow scientists to better understand how these tiny particulates travel in the atmosphere and influence weather and climate. In this visualization, covering August 2006 to April 2007, watch as dust and sea salt swirl inside cyclones, carbon bursts from fires, sulfate streams from volcanoes—and see how these aerosols paint the modeled world. (01:35)[more]

Nitrogen is important to living things because plants and animals use it to make protein, with allows them to live and grow. The nitrogen cycle describes how nitrogen is continuously transformed between organic and non-organic forms. Learn more abo...ut the cycle with this cartoon animation from StudyJams. A short, self-checking quiz is also included with this link.[more]

This middle school podcast describes the atmosphere as a shell of gas around the Earth. The video focuses on the multiple layers, temperature, and composition of the air. Video is cut short, but contest is very good. Run time 02:46.

We live inside Earth's "global electric circuit," sharing our atmosphere with sprites, elves, blue jets, and other electric phenomena. Scientists have been developing a model to explain the phenomenon we experience with electrical activities. (4:21)

Weather is the condition of the outside air at any time or place, and it is constantly changing. The climate, on the other hand, gives the big picture, or what the weather is like over a long period of time. Learn more about the differences between... weather and climate with this cartoon animation from StudyJams. A short, self-checking quiz is also included with this link.[more]

Life as we know it doesn't thrive on planets without ozone layers. A new instrument slated for launch to the ISS will monitor Earth's protective ozone shell with greater depth and precision than ever before. (04:18)

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